1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a vehicle body structure at mounting portions of tractive hooks or fastening hooks of an automobile to be transported by land or sea.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIGS. 1 and 2 exemplarily illustrate a prior art vehicle body structure of an automobile having fastening hooks of this kind. To a vehicle body member M of the automobile to be transported including a panel 1 of the body and a channel member (body stiffener member) 2 reinforcing the panel 1 to form a box-shaped cross-sectional portion is secured by welding for example arc welding at W.sub.1 a U-shaped fastening member body 3 of a circular cross-sectional rod with its legs 3a and 3b such that its arm connecting these legs extends beyond an edge of the vehicle body member M. Arrows T in FIG. 1 illustrate tensile forces acting upon the fastening bodies when the vehicle body is fastened. With this construction, as the fastening members are only directly welded to the vehicle body, they contribute to saving the manufacturing cost and ensure a reliable transport for a short distance. However, they have a limitation of strength in a transport for a long distance. In case of, for example, an oversea transport, the proximity of the spot welded portion W.sub.2 of the vehicle body member M lacks a required strength probably resulting in spot separations or cracks in the flange surrounded by the legs 3a of the fastening body 3. Therefore, reinforcement members welded to the weak portions of the vehicle body are required for a long distance transport, so that vehicle bodies are not common for the same type of automobiles, which is disadvantageous in manufacturing automobiles.